New Star-Bulletin owner David Black said the newspaper is working to fix delivery problems that upset subscribers during its first two days of independent publication. New Bulletin owner
says phones and presses
full speed aheadCalls flood into the newspaper
By Erika Engle
Star-BulletinThe newspaper has been jammed with calls, mostly complaints from subscribers not receiving the afternoon edition of the paper.
At a news conference yesterday at the paper's Waterfront Plaza offices, Black said the paper is working through the glitches.
He said the first night the Star-Bulletin was produced at the RFD Publications printing plant in Kaneohe, the presses had just been installed.
"It was the first time they had been turned over -- they were right out of the containers," Black said.
The overnight glitches limited the press run Thursday morning to 31,000 of the intended 33,000 copies. That number was to be added to the press run for the afternoon edition, which was to have brought the day's total copies printed to 100,000. The first day's total was 70,000.
Yesterday, the presses ran perfectly, Black said.
Black told reporters he is "thrilled with the quality of the paper and proud of the staff for its achievements."
The flood of calls filled the company's 44 telephone trunk lines to overflowing. To handle the onslaught, Black said Verizon has rededicated 40 of the trunk lines for incoming calls, leaving four lines for outgoing calls. Staff members were being encouraged to use wireless phones as well.
Some of the calls to the newspaper's offices were from callers upset that rather than finding the Bulletin delivered to their home, the Honolulu Advertiser's new afternoon edition had arrived. Black said those complaint calls should be directed to the Advertiser.
Black was asked about the Kaneohe printing plant's proximity to residential neighborhoods. He said the plant is on land zoned for commercial use, but that he and other executives met with area residents to address any concerns.
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